CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Police in North Carolina say a Pizza Hut employee used his own handgun to shoot and kill one of three armed robbers holding up the store.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it happened early Sunday at a Pizza Hut restaurant near Interstate 85 in west Charlotte. Detectives say the restaurant was closed and there were no customers inside.

Police say their initial investigation indicates three people entered the restaurant around 1:40 a.m. Sunday and were in the process of robbing it when one of the employees used his personal handgun to shoot one male thief. Police say a handgun carried by the slain robber was recovered at the scene.